The Biden administration (was: The NEW 2020 Election Thread)

[tim_m]

Most are being delivered by Fedex and UPS not USPS.

[cineater]

Most are being delivered by Fedex and UPS not USPS.

And why is that?  Why can't they do the one thing they have done forever, long before these other folks were even a business?

[jarmo]

And why is that?  Why can't they do the one thing they have done forever, long before these other folks were even a business?

I don't know how it's there, but in many places the postal service doesn't have their own planes for example.




/jarmo

[pilferk]

And why is that?  Why can't they do the one thing they have done forever, long before these other folks were even a business?

USPS doesn't have the capacity to ship high volume, refrigerated, packages.  FedEx and UPS do.

Remember, USPS has had long standing issues with delivering PACKAGES.  Letters and paper products...100%.  But the reason that UPS (way back in 1907) and FedEx sprung up (and Amazon delivery of late) was specifically to address efficient parcel delivery vs letter delivery.

UPS/FedEx just have more specialization in this area.

I gotta say, since the Biden administration took over, they're doing pretty good getting stuff to the states.  The varying states ability to get stuff out to vaccination sites has varied wildly.

[cineater]

And why is that?  Why can't they do the one thing they have done forever, long before these other folks were even a business?

USPS doesn't have the capacity to ship high volume, refrigerated, packages.  FedEx and UPS do.

Remember, USPS has had long standing issues with delivering PACKAGES.  Letters and paper products...100%.  But the reason that UPS (way back in 1907) and FedEx sprung up (and Amazon delivery of late) was specifically to address efficient parcel delivery vs letter delivery.

UPS/FedEx just have more specialization in this area.

I gotta say, since the Biden administration took over, they're doing pretty good getting stuff to the states.  The varying states ability to get stuff out to vaccination sites has varied wildly.

Imagine how much we could have saved in shipping if we could have used the government program that is suppose to be able to do just that?  In their defense that whole Christmas shipping problem got dumped on them when UPS and FedEx got over run.  They stop accepting packages and it all got dumped on USPS who had to accept it.  I don't think UPS/FedEX were prepared for this but they got their shit together fast. 

Let me tell you, if my regular mailman is off, odds are there is no mail that day and that was happening before covid.  The post office is fucked up.

[jarmo]

Imagine how much we could have saved in shipping if we could have used the government program that is suppose to be able to do just that? 

Ha!

Socialism!


The right wing are perfectly fine with paying more for something as long as it's not tax money...

$100 more in taxes to pay for something, absolutely not!
$200 more to pay a fee for the same thing that also pays the owners as well as nice bonuses to the board? Hell yes! 


Only partly joking.

I've explained our education system to Americans and their conclusion has often been: I prefer our system. Like, what part of free university/college education for all sounds scary?



/jarmo

[cineater]

I personally don't mind paying taxes but I'll be damn if I'm wasteful with it.  We need government and we need programs.  We don't need the lowest bidder and sacrifice quality. 

When it comes to the post office I think they suffer from mismanagement and lack of funding.  Residential daily mail delivery is no longer needed, imo.  Cut it down to 3 days a week.

[jarmo]

It's an interesting thing. Because the image people have of government is that there's a lot of people doing nothing. It's inefficient etc.

Anything government/state/city run.

Which probably is true in some cases. On the other hand when profits are the main objective, then there's no guarantee it leads to the best results.




If your postal service is anything like ours, they've had to rearrange their business in recent years. We went from less and less regular mail to a sudden boom in package deliveries due to online shopping.

Less magazines and letters are delivered, more of the rest. Now when the big sales events happen, like Black Friday and with this pandemic going on as well, several places where you pick up your packages are running low on storage space for additional packages.

Ironic considering the Internet was supposed to kill off the postal service since no one sends letters anymore....




/jarmo

[cineater]

It's an interesting thing. Because the image people have of government is that there's a lot of people doing nothing. It's inefficient etc.

Anything government/state/city run.

Which probably is true in some cases. On the other hand when profits are the main objective, then there's no guarantee it leads to the best results.




If your postal service is anything like ours, they've had to rearrange their business in recent years. We went from less and less regular mail to a sudden boom in package deliveries due to online shopping.

Less magazines and letters are delivered, more of the rest. Now when the big sales events happen, like Black Friday and with this pandemic going on as well, several places where you pick up your packages are running low on storage space for additional packages.

Ironic considering the Internet was supposed to kill off the postal service since no one sends letters anymore....




/jarmo

People think that about government jobs but I can tell you from where I was, you always did more work then just your job and generally over two people's jobs.  The equipment was probably older then I was (held up better).  There was no free lunch no matter how far across the state they sent you during the workday.  Pay raises were cost of living only and some years not even that.  We joked about all good employees picked up a free pen whenever they could.  Towards the end of the fiscal year we would start to run low on postage money and a supervisor would have to approve if you wanted to mail something. 

Seems to be the same for the post office.  Not enough people to do the work and missing employees means the work doesn't get done.  Don't know how old that jeep is he delivers my mail in but it's beat to shit and he has no AC.  Personally, I'm 90 percent junk mail that hits the recycling bin before I even look at it.  I have a few magazines that come in the mail but all the important stuff is online emails.

[jemin]

And why is that?  Why can't they do the one thing they have done forever, long before these other folks were even a business?

USPS doesn't have the capacity to ship high volume, refrigerated, packages.  FedEx and UPS do.

Remember, USPS has had long standing issues with delivering PACKAGES.  Letters and paper products...100%.  But the reason that UPS (way back in 1907) and FedEx sprung up (and Amazon delivery of late) was specifically to address efficient parcel delivery vs letter delivery.

UPS/FedEx just have more specialization in this area.

I gotta say, since the Biden administration took over, they're doing pretty good getting stuff to the states.  The varying states ability to get stuff out to vaccination sites has varied wildly.

Imagine how much we could have saved in shipping if we could have used the government program that is suppose to be able to do just that?  In their defense that whole Christmas shipping problem got dumped on them when UPS and FedEx got over run.  They stop accepting packages and it all got dumped on USPS who had to accept it.  I don't think UPS/FedEX were prepared for this but they got their shit together fast. 

Let me tell you, if my regular mailman is off, odds are there is no mail that day and that was happening before covid.  The post office is fucked up.

Full disclosure in advance: I work for the United States Postal Service.  With that out of the way.

How would we be saving cost on shipping?  The workers would still have to be paid to deliver.  We are only a quasi government entity.  By that I mean we are not funded by the government.  We are self funded through the products that we sell.

UPS and Fed Ex did not get their shit together.  They dumped everything on USPS and the stuff that they stopped accepting had to be delivered by someone so the USPS took on that as well.  We were extremely overburdened before Christmas because of Covid and once Christmas hit it made things worse.  The month leading up to Christmas has always been traditionally a very heavy load for us but this year took it to the extreme and I think the processing plants just did what they could to get stuff in and out.  It should always follow FIFO (First In/First Out) but it seems that as fast as the trailers full of parcels were showing up that they had lines waiting to get unloaded with a log jam in the trailer yards.  Plus with the Covid leave there were multiple plants and offices that were so short staffed that many were working 12-15 hours a day just to get people their mail and packages. 

[jemin]

I personally don't mind paying taxes but I'll be damn if I'm wasteful with it.  We need government and we need programs.  We don't need the lowest bidder and sacrifice quality. 

When it comes to the post office I think they suffer from mismanagement and lack of funding.  Residential daily mail delivery is no longer needed, imo.  Cut it down to 3 days a week.

You may not need mail delivery everyday but many people do and rely on it. Also tell that to the people that have found the joy of Amazon during Covid and have something delivered to their house EVERY SINGLE DAY, If UPS and Fedex couldn't keep up during Christmas they sure as shit wouldn't be able to keep up if we went to 3 days a week.  I also would like to continue to pay my bills and I would not be able to do that because I would probably not be needed if we were to cut it down to 3 days a week.  That would put a lot of people out of work!  Talk about a downturn for the economy. 

[jemin]

If your postal service is anything like ours, they've had to rearrange their business in recent years. We went from less and less regular mail to a sudden boom in package deliveries due to online shopping.

Less magazines and letters are delivered, more of the rest. Now when the big sales events happen, like Black Friday and with this pandemic going on as well, several places where you pick up your packages are running low on storage space for additional packages.

Ironic considering the Internet was supposed to kill off the postal service since no one sends letters anymore....




/jarmo

This is exactly the case here. 

[PermissionToLand]

Ironically, that's the guy I was talking about. Josh Hawley. Scary stuff.

I do, however, take some solace in the fact that Biden and the Dems at large seem to have learned from the mistakes made under Obama. Or at least, they feel pressured out of their worst neoliberal instincts by the progressive groundswell post-Bernie. I have been pleasantly surprised that Biden has not been just a repeat of Obama so far. I never thought I would hear him say something like "the risk is going too small, not too big".

No clue what you just said there but lets stop the 'your in this category so your thoughts don't count'.  Everybody brings something to the table, we can work it out.  We can cooperate with each other.  We have common ground.  We all have the same concern.  It doesn't have to be the same old way of doing politics.

Having said that, Josh Hawley has been bought by the good old boys way of doing things.

Wait, what? What does that have to do with what I said?

In any case, certain opinions are and should be beyond the pale. Advocating for exterminating other races is and should be beyond the pale. Advocating things that violate the constitutional and human rights of others is and should be beyond the pale. Everyone does not bring something to the table. We've all already agreed on that. The only thing we can't agree on is where the line should be drawn. We cannot cooperate with people who don't want to cooperate with us. We cannot extend democratic power to those opposed to democracy itself. The entire system would collapse if you were that radically permissive.

Unless you think you can cooperate with everyone on earth including literal Nazis, you already agree with me; certain views are beyond the pale. Hell, our entire justice system is built on legislated morality. There is nothing but a broad agreement on the immorality of murder as something beyond the pale in acceptability that makes it illegal. We already, as a society, pick and choose what kinds of behavior are beyond the pale to the point of putting others in jail for them.

[PermissionToLand]

Full disclosure in advance: I work for the United States Postal Service.  With that out of the way.

How would we be saving cost on shipping?  The workers would still have to be paid to deliver.  We are only a quasi government entity.  By that I mean we are not funded by the government.  We are self funded through the products that we sell.

UPS and Fed Ex did not get their shit together.  They dumped everything on USPS and the stuff that they stopped accepting had to be delivered by someone so the USPS took on that as well.  We were extremely overburdened before Christmas because of Covid and once Christmas hit it made things worse.  The month leading up to Christmas has always been traditionally a very heavy load for us but this year took it to the extreme and I think the processing plants just did what they could to get stuff in and out.  It should always follow FIFO (First In/First Out) but it seems that as fast as the trailers full of parcels were showing up that they had lines waiting to get unloaded with a log jam in the trailer yards.  Plus with the Covid leave there were multiple plants and offices that were so short staffed that many were working 12-15 hours a day just to get people their mail and packages. 

That's crazy, I had no idea it was that bad. You probably don't hear this enough, but thank you for your service. It's an underappreciated sacrifice to work for the government (or quasi-controlled subsidiaries), especially due to the issues you and cineater pointed out.

[cineater]

And why is that?  Why can't they do the one thing they have done forever, long before these other folks were even a business?

USPS doesn't have the capacity to ship high volume, refrigerated, packages.  FedEx and UPS do.

Remember, USPS has had long standing issues with delivering PACKAGES.  Letters and paper products...100%.  But the reason that UPS (way back in 1907) and FedEx sprung up (and Amazon delivery of late) was specifically to address efficient parcel delivery vs letter delivery.

UPS/FedEx just have more specialization in this area.

I gotta say, since the Biden administration took over, they're doing pretty good getting stuff to the states.  The varying states ability to get stuff out to vaccination sites has varied wildly.

Imagine how much we could have saved in shipping if we could have used the government program that is suppose to be able to do just that?  In their defense that whole Christmas shipping problem got dumped on them when UPS and FedEx got over run.  They stop accepting packages and it all got dumped on USPS who had to accept it.  I don't think UPS/FedEX were prepared for this but they got their shit together fast. 

Let me tell you, if my regular mailman is off, odds are there is no mail that day and that was happening before covid.  The post office is fucked up.

Full disclosure in advance: I work for the United States Postal Service.  With that out of the way.

How would we be saving cost on shipping?  The workers would still have to be paid to deliver.  We are only a quasi government entity.  By that I mean we are not funded by the government.  We are self funded through the products that we sell.

UPS and Fed Ex did not get their shit together.  They dumped everything on USPS and the stuff that they stopped accepting had to be delivered by someone so the USPS took on that as well.  We were extremely overburdened before Christmas because of Covid and once Christmas hit it made things worse.  The month leading up to Christmas has always been traditionally a very heavy load for us but this year took it to the extreme and I think the processing plants just did what they could to get stuff in and out.  It should always follow FIFO (First In/First Out) but it seems that as fast as the trailers full of parcels were showing up that they had lines waiting to get unloaded with a log jam in the trailer yards.  Plus with the Covid leave there were multiple plants and offices that were so short staffed that many were working 12-15 hours a day just to get people their mail and packages. 

I did not know you were self funded.  I assumed you got a Federal budget.  I meant they got their shit together for the covid vaccine.  No, USPS got screwed over Christmas and took the blame for the shipping problems when they got dumped on.  I don't think USPS had the option to stop accepting packages did they?  Same thing where I worked, short staffed just means you work longer hours and if it can't be covered by the staff on hand it doesn't get done.  There's no option to hire temporary help.  There's no overtime pay either.  It's all comp hours at straight time.

[cineater]

Ironically, that's the guy I was talking about. Josh Hawley. Scary stuff.

I do, however, take some solace in the fact that Biden and the Dems at large seem to have learned from the mistakes made under Obama. Or at least, they feel pressured out of their worst neoliberal instincts by the progressive groundswell post-Bernie. I have been pleasantly surprised that Biden has not been just a repeat of Obama so far. I never thought I would hear him say something like "the risk is going too small, not too big".

No clue what you just said there but lets stop the 'your in this category so your thoughts don't count'.  Everybody brings something to the table, we can work it out.  We can cooperate with each other.  We have common ground.  We all have the same concern.  It doesn't have to be the same old way of doing politics.

Having said that, Josh Hawley has been bought by the good old boys way of doing things.

Wait, what? What does that have to do with what I said?

In any case, certain opinions are and should be beyond the pale. Advocating for exterminating other races is and should be beyond the pale. Advocating things that violate the constitutional and human rights of others is and should be beyond the pale. Everyone does not bring something to the table. We've all already agreed on that. The only thing we can't agree on is where the line should be drawn. We cannot cooperate with people who don't want to cooperate with us. We cannot extend democratic power to those opposed to democracy itself. The entire system would collapse if you were that radically permissive.

Unless you think you can cooperate with everyone on earth including literal Nazis, you already agree with me; certain views are beyond the pale. Hell, our entire justice system is built on legislated morality. There is nothing but a broad agreement on the immorality of murder as something beyond the pale in acceptability that makes it illegal. We already, as a society, pick and choose what kinds of behavior are beyond the pale to the point of putting others in jail for them.

I'm just saying your real quick at throwing people into categories and thinking they all think a certain way.  You're thinking of radicals when the group in the middle of extremes are where most people are.  Radicals are dealt with in a different way and pretty much everyone can point to them and say not acceptable.  You know, it's obvious who they are.  Put your energy towards the solutions for everybody, not towards putting people in categories.  Work from the common goals and use diversity of the groups as a strength, not as the problem.

[PermissionToLand]

I'm just saying your real quick at throwing people into categories and thinking they all think a certain way.  You're thinking of radicals when the group in the middle of extremes are where most people are.  Radicals are dealt with in a different way and pretty much everyone can point to them and say not acceptable.  

Who am I "throwing into categories"? I've cited statistics, like the fact that 78% of surveyed republicans supported Trump right after the coup attempt happened. That is from a survey, meaning in their own words, that is what they believe.

Yes, I am talking about radicals. Not moderates. Did I not make that clear? The problem is that the GOP is a radical party (again, proven by the above statistic). They believe radical things when you poll them in surveys. There are no assumptions being made here at all. All of the reasonable moderate conservatives have left the party in droves BECAUSE OF THAT REASON. They elected the most radical president in history, who just tried to overthrow democracy. By definition, if you support the GOP, you are supporting a radical extremist party.

You know, it's obvious who they are.

Sadly, it is not. Because the window of acceptable opinions has been shifted hard to the right for decades by deeply-funded campaigns. So what was once beyond the pale, does not seem so radical anymore because a significant chunk of the country has been radicalized. All of the moderate conservatives have left the party and become independents.

Further, radicals are never honest about what they believe in or the fact that they are radicals. Racists will never admit to being racist, they claim they are "just telling it like it is" and "race realists" and hide behind fake causes like "states rights" that cover for their true intentions. Lee Atwater openly admitted this:

Put your energy towards the solutions for everybody, not towards putting people in categories.  Work from the common goals and use diversity of the groups as a strength, not as the problem.

You can do more than one thing. My policy prescriptions ARE for everyone. I made it clear that I am not talking about people who we have common goals with. OF COURSE I'd work with them. However, we cannot simply cover our eyes and ears and pretend extremists don't exist or that if you ignore them, they will go away, or that they don't pose a real threat and don't require being dealt with. That is how you ENSURE that extremists will take power. You MUST be vigilant, especially as the movement behind Trump becomes more and more fascist.

Frankly, your carelessness disturbs me. We just had a nationalist movement try to overthrow the government, and they show zero signs of abating. They are only getting more disconnected from reality. All it takes is a more competent leader than Trump with evil motives to wreak utter devastation. Trump outlined how to circumvent every norm and limit on presidential power, laying the perfect blueprint for an authoritarian to seize power. He's created the playbook. If you think extremists haven't taken notice, you are sorely mistaken.

[cineater]

I'm just saying your real quick at throwing people into categories and thinking they all think a certain way.  You're thinking of radicals when the group in the middle of extremes are where most people are.  Radicals are dealt with in a different way and pretty much everyone can point to them and say not acceptable.  

Who am I "throwing into categories"? I've cited statistics, like the fact that 78% of surveyed republicans supported Trump right after the coup attempt happened. That is from a survey, meaning in their own words, that is what they believe.

Yes, I am talking about radicals. Not moderates. Did I not make that clear? The problem is that the GOP is a radical party (again, proven by the above statistic). They believe radical things when you poll them in surveys. There are no assumptions being made here at all. All of the reasonable moderate conservatives have left the party in droves BECAUSE OF THAT REASON. They elected the most radical president in history, who just tried to overthrow democracy. By definition, if you support the GOP, you are supporting a radical extremist party.

You know, it's obvious who they are.

Sadly, it is not. Because the window of acceptable opinions has been shifted hard to the right for decades by deeply-funded campaigns. So what was once beyond the pale, does not seem so radical anymore because a significant chunk of the country has been radicalized. All of the moderate conservatives have left the party and become independents.

Further, radicals are never honest about what they believe in or the fact that they are radicals. Racists will never admit to being racist, they claim they are "just telling it like it is" and "race realists" and hide behind fake causes like "states rights" that cover for their true intentions. Lee Atwater openly admitted this:

Put your energy towards the solutions for everybody, not towards putting people in categories.  Work from the common goals and use diversity of the groups as a strength, not as the problem.

You can do more than one thing. My policy prescriptions ARE for everyone. I made it clear that I am not talking about people who we have common goals with. OF COURSE I'd work with them. However, we cannot simply cover our eyes and ears and pretend extremists don't exist or that if you ignore them, they will go away, or that they don't pose a real threat and don't require being dealt with. That is how you ENSURE that extremists will take power. You MUST be vigilant, especially as the movement behind Trump becomes more and more fascist.

Frankly, your carelessness disturbs me. We just had a nationalist movement try to overthrow the government, and they show zero signs of abating. They are only getting more disconnected from reality. All it takes is a more competent leader than Trump with evil motives to wreak utter devastation. Trump outlined how to circumvent every norm and limit on presidential power, laying the perfect blueprint for an authoritarian to seize power. He's created the playbook. If you think extremists haven't taken notice, you are sorely mistaken.

You view what happen at the capitol as a coup.  And you believe a survey that said do you support Trump is the same thing as supporting a radical group that got into the capitol building.  Yeah you lumped all those protesters who didn't go into the building and left when it got out of hand into the same group.  And all those Republican's who stayed home into that same group.

Trump was recommended for impeachment for inciting the riot at the capitol but not impeached.  Trump says there was voter fraud but that was not proven.  You probably disagree with the first decision and agree with the second.  You probably feel all Republicans feel the opposite from you on those two points.  Pretty narrow point of view.  And when you say your policies ARE, in big, demanding, forceful letters, for everyone, how imbedded is your thinking that you think you know what's best for everyone?  Any room to hear the other side and come up with a different solution?

I wouldn't say I'm careless although I'm not really into politics.  I'm pretty disturbed about the division between the two parties and that the votes are going along party lines.  I want to see them work together.  I don't expect everybody to vote yes on issues but I would feel a lot better if members of the parties voted based on what they thought.  You see some of each party going against what their bigger party supported.  I think when you get elected to an office you represent everybody not just the party you got into office by. 

I'm an independent voter.  I have never declared a party affiliation.  I vote for the person.

[jarmo]

AP-NORC poll: Americans largely back Biden’s virus response https://apnews.com/article/ap-norc-poll-americans-largely-back-biden-virus-response-d365bff571c24f9d3575bcbd051780aa

---


The ones not supporting him are the ones who don't believe in the theory of evolution, yet are upset that Biden called removing mask mandates as something a Neanderthal would think of, and defend Neanderthals.... 





/jarmo

[PermissionToLand]

You view what happen at the capitol as a coup.  And you believe a survey that said do you support Trump is the same thing as supporting a radical group that got into the capitol building.  Yeah you lumped all those protesters who didn't go into the building and left when it got out of hand into the same group.  And all those Republican's who stayed home into that same group.

You seem to be the one putting me into boxes, frankly.

FBI director Cristopher Wray has called the events of Jan 6th "domestic terrorism" and a "siege". The Department of Justice has called it a "violent insurrection". The Joint Chiefs of Staff called it an "insurrection". The Attorney General of NY called it an "attempted coup". Words like "coup" have nothing to do with what I think, this just just stating objective facts. Are you seriously taking issue with that or suggesting it is partisan to state facts backed up by every intelligence agency in the country?

I also cited the fact that 45% of republicans explicitly supported the insurrection in that same poll. If you don't find it damning that 78% also still supported the president who fomented that coup, that's fine, but I disagree. But I never said they were "the same thing". Why are you putting words in my mouth?

I didn't say anything at all about the people who did not enter the capitol. And I certainly did not say anything about republicans who stayed home being responsible. Again, why are you putting words in my mouth? If you want to know what I think, you can just ask. I think anyone who walked past the first police barrier to be broken, should at the least be prosecuted for trespassing. Those who went inside the building are getting more serious punishments, as they should. Anyone who did not cross a police line did nothing wrong.

I never said anything to suggest that even the 45% of republicans who explicitly supported the siege should face consequences. What I said was that nearly half of the party supporting an overthrow of democracy should seriously concern you with the growing threat of anti-democratic elements in the GOP.

Trump was recommended for impeachment for inciting the riot at the capitol but not impeached.  Trump says there was voter fraud but that was not proven.  You probably disagree with the first decision and agree with the second.

Your analogy does not work because impeachment is not a criminal process; it's a political process. The courts that threw out Trump's voter fraud claims are not run by politicians of the defendant's own party, like the senate which acquitted him. This isn't the "gotcha" argument you seem to think it is.

You probably feel all Republicans feel the opposite from you on those two points.  Pretty narrow point of view.

I don't assume anything. You are assuming what I believe right now. Do you seriously not see that? I never said anything, not a single word, about "all republicans". I am speaking about trends within the party. Mitt Romney still exists. But if you think he is anything but the exception to the rule, you aren't paying attention. You seem really stubbornly attached to the idea that the republican party cannot possibly be a radical party, despite all evidence being to the contrary. I never said everyone in it is equally radical. But you cannot abdicate personal responsibility for the policies you vote for. You're trying to make this about individuals when I am talking about the literal platform of the party, what they self-proclaim to stand for.

And when you say your policies ARE, in big, demanding, forceful letters, for everyone, how imbedded is your thinking that you think you know what's best for everyone?  Any room to hear the other side and come up with a different solution?

Capitalizing words for emphasis makes me "demanding" and closed-minded? Seriously?

I don't expect everybody to vote yes on issues but I would feel a lot better if members of the parties voted based on what they thought.  You see some of each party going against what their bigger party supported.  I think when you get elected to an office you represent everybody not just the party you got into office by.

... yeah, I agree. You've read a lot into my comments that isn't there if you have put me into this "closed-minded" box and assumed a bunch of my beliefs to the point where you even assume I am against the trustee model of representation or bipartisanship.